As watch lovers and writers at Gear Patrol, we spend our afternoons pitching, researching and writing stories, poring over the new timepieces coming in and out of our office, and hunting for deals on used and vintage pieces online. And when a new watch comes across our radar, one that particularly resonates with our tastes, we can’t help but obsess over it. And not just obsess over them — we talk about them, debate their relevance, orate on their greatness and rail on their faults. So, here’s a taste of that: five timepieces are watch-loving staff can’t seem to shake, right this second.
Tudor Prince OysterDate
Andrew Connor, Associate Staff Writer: Like with cars, my watch obsession varies by the week. Also like with cars, I can guarantee you I’m obsessing over something old, something kind of offbeat and something cheap. Last week it was the Speedmaster “Reduced.” The week before, the King Seiko. This week? The Tudor Prince Oysterdate. You can find them on eBay for around $1,000. They posses almost everything people love about the Rolex DateJust — the same nicely finished Oyster case, a “cyclops” date magnifier, a nice Swiss movement (an ETA and not a Rolex movement, but whatever) and a myriad of dial choices, all of them minimalist yet intriguing.
Rolex Explorer II
Matt Neundorf, Contributor: My fortieth birthday is just over a year away. Many moons ago I made myself a promise that I would own a Rolex and a Porsche 911 by the time Matt 4.0 came to be. The Porsche is questionable (damn you, air-cooled inflation), but the Rolex is looking good. The one I’m leaning towards is the Explorer II. There’s just something about its simplicity, legibility and overt toughness — especially the crisp “Polar” version — that speaks to me. With an unlimited budget, I’d aim for a reference 1655 from 1978, as it’s my birth year, but the McQueen affiliation has made those appreciate like an air-cooled Porker so a reference 216570 will have to suffice.
